Flavio Cobolli’s breakthrough at Roland Garros produced a major ranking milestone. The 24-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semifinal and final in Paris and, despite losing the title match to Alexander Zverev in a five-set battle, climbed from No. 14 to No. 10 in the latest ATP rankings, marking his Top 10 debut.

Cobolli is the seventh Italian to enter the ATP Top 10 since the rankings began in 1973. He is also only the second Italian man in the past 50 years to contest the Roland Garros final, joining last year’s runner-up, Jannik Sinner. Born in 2002, Cobolli is the fifth man born in 2002 or later to reach the Top 10, following Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, who were both born in 2003, and Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton, who were both born in 2002.

The route to the final carried complicated circumstances. Cobolli advanced to the title match after countryman Matteo Arnaldi withdrew before their semifinal due to illness. Cobolli reflected on the day with mixed emotions: “When [Arnaldi] came to me almost one hour ago, I almost cried,” he said. “It’s something that you don’t expect at all. I was ready to play this match. When he came, I was completely sad for him.

“But at the same time, of course I’m really happy for the result that I reached this week. My dad also came to me right before him, and we had a big hug together with the whole team for achieving the Top 10. Every time that I make the best ranking, we all together have a big hug. We did the same routine as always.

“Yeah, now I’m sad and happy at the same time.”

Arnaldi, 25, leaps from No. 104 to No. 34 after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal, moving to within four spots of his 2024 career-high of No. 30. Matteo Berrettini also recorded a significant rise, moving from No. 105 to No. 48 after reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2022 on the terre battue. For the former No. 6, it was his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2021, following four years marked by injury and illness withdrawals.

Alexander Zverev finally crossed the major barrier, beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets to claim his first Grand Slam title.

The final swung repeatedly. Zverev led by a set twice and surrendered that advantage on both occasions. In the fourth-set tiebreaker he was within a couple of points of victory before Cobolli prevailed 7-5, sending the match to a decisive fifth set. Zverev said a surprising physical moment helped him find composure.

“What kind of helped me, I was cramping a little bit, because I was emotional,” Zverev said. “I haven’t cramped in probably 10 years. I was very nervous, very kind of tightened up, and then, once I cramped, I relaxed, and that helped me.”

He described his fifth-set tennis succinctly. “I feel like I played better in the fifth set, I played more free, I played more aggressive.” Zverev backed that up with 14 straight first serves to begin the set. He broke Cobolli for 0-2 with a drop shot that set up a winning pass, and he saved two break points at 3-0, the second via an all-court defensive sequence that ended with a missed Cobolli overhead.

When Cobolli’s final smash went awry, Zverev collapsed to the court and the milestone was complete. The moment carried extra weight because of painful history on this court. “This court had some of my best memories, and also some of my biggest heartbreaks,” Zverev said about Chatrier. “Laying on the floor, with seven broken ligaments and two fractured bones.” That injury in the 2022 semifinal against Rafael Nadal had ended his season.

Zverev acknowledged the wider context, including the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, and the urgency it created. “If I lost this final, I maybe would have never won a Slam,” he said. “Now that I’ve won this, it changes. I feel like I’ve done it. Maybe I can enjoy these finals a bit more, play my best tennis.”

Reactions to the victory are mixed. Supporters point to his friendships on tour, his refusal to engage in gamesmanship, his play while managing juvenile diabetes and his persistence after late-round defeats. Critics note two allegations of domestic abuse: an ATP inquiry closed with no disciplinary action because of “insufficient evidence,” and a separate matter resolved in Germany with a 200,000-euro settlement fine paid without admission of guilt. Zverev denies both allegations.

Alexander Zverev secured the first Grand Slam title of his career by outlasting Flavio Cobolli in a dramatic five-set final at Roland Garros, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 on Sunday. The victory ended a run of near-misses for Zverev at the majors and gave him the one trophy that had eluded him to this point.

This was the fourth major final of Zverev’s career. He had been runner-up on three previous occasions: at the US Open in 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem in five sets; at Roland Garros in 2024, when he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets; and at the Australian Open in 2025, when he was defeated by Jannik Sinner in straight sets. Entering this match he risked becoming only the third man in the Open Era to lose his first four major finals, joining Ivan Lendl and Andy Murray, but the outcome means his name will not go on that list.

Beyond the personal milestone of a first major, the result completes another notable career achievement for Zverev. With the Roland Garros title he has now won tour-level events at every category: ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP Masters 1000, ATP Finals, the Olympics and a Grand Slam. That sweep places him in rare company; he is the fourth man ever to claim tour-level titles at every level, joining Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

For context about other greats, Federer was only missing the Olympics from that list, and Nadal was only missing the ATP Finals. Zverev’s triumph at Roland Garros both closes a chapter of major final frustration and adds a defining line to a career that now includes success at every tier of the modern tour.